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My uncle had a 57 4 dr with the J-2 option in the 50s. He took the huge air cleaner off and replaced it with the usual chrome pots that we all love so much.

In the mid 70s I found a 57 Super 88 and drove it as my daily driver for a few years. (company truck for work) I still think it is one of the prettiest cars ever designed. I bought a complete J-2 set up less the air cleaner. I never did get it installed. I bought a 98 Holiday coupe parts car for the power windows and power seat.

I like the Super 88 the best. The shorter rear deck makes it more appealing to my eye but had more bling than the 88. The 3 piece rear window is a classic design. The 57 J-2 has a fond place in my heart.

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My dad had a 'vert with the J2 option back in the day. I have a picture of it in Brooklyn back in the day... really cool street scene picture. He wishes he had this one back!! Maybe this thread will get me to finally scan those pictures and share them...

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Interesting aside -- J-2 was developed before Pontiac's more-famous Tri-Power setup. Pete Estes, who became Pontiac's chief engineer in September 1956, was a senior motor engineer at Oldsmobile before going to Pontiac, so he was well aware of the J-2 engine. Naturally, he shared that intelligence with Bunkie Knudsen, and before long, Pontiac had its own triple-two setup. Of course, Pontiac used it longer than Olds did, and they marketed it much more aggressively.

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During a summer break, a buddy and I were going to build a car for cruising. Got a Henry J for $25 ,a 57 Olds rearend for nothing and 394 Olds engine from his uncles for $125(I don't think they ever got paid). Put on an old Ford straight axle, the Olds rear practically bolted in and to top it off, a J2 set-up from the same guy that had the '57 rear. The guy's wife nagged at him so much, he gave us the J2. The car never got done, but that's probably a good thing for both of us! I wish I had all those pieces now and that's probably not a good thing either. Memories are stirred in the strangest places. Thanks for the clips,Cat

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'Corriganville' was named for Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, a B western star. The movie ranch was very well known in the time, and I visited there a few times when I was a kid on school field trips. It was located in the far eastern end of the Simi Valley. A lot of westerns were filmed there, including TV series. It was actually located on the Butterfield Stage Line right of way through Box Canyon.

Its popularity waned with the western, and in its final years it was known as 'Hopetown' after Bob Hope bought it out. Today the land is still there but all of the buildings are long gone. It has long been used for motorcycle racing for several decades and it's still an active motocross site.

Many TV commercials were shot on studio lots all around LA. Corriganville was not far at all from the infamous Spahn Movie ranch, where Charles Manson hung out.

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I know it wasn't a 57 but my Dad had a rocket 88 and I loved that car ! That thing would smoke the tire off ! That was the first car I ever drove at a ripe old age of 6 ! Sat on his lap and steered that big steering wheel real good too . Rode great too !

I still can understand how we all made it to live this long with the toys and places we played at when we were young . That play ground would be condemned in todays world . We really had some goot time when we were young and never had any problems with getting hurt ! Just shows how people think in todays world !

Still one of my most favorite cars that were ever built was the 1955 to 1959 Olds and the Olds wagons were beautiful too !

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You are real lucky to have your High school car ! Most never made it past a few years later from beating the hell out of them .
Does it still run and do yo ever drive it around ? I see in the pics you have it stored in a garage with some ither nice toys .

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Here's a picture of my uncle, Mac Mckee, and the 57 him and my dad built for the open mile, I believe Moultrie. It had a 455 and a 3 deuce, not a J2 but the even more rare L69 442 setup. They took it out one time, flipped a coin to see who would drive first, and Mac won. Halfway down the track it caught on fire, and that was the last time they raced it. A local guy bought it, and I still see it around every once in awhile. I love them 57's.

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I got a Fiesta Wagon post in '98. Rust free car. Frame off restoration, and i've put about 11,000 miles on it since 2003. Had the jetaway trans rebuilt by a guy who was trained at the factory. 371 J-2 tri power setup works great,the secondary carbs come in like a dream, and the car rides and drives like a 50's Olds Should. The fold down backseat in a wagon is great for a drive-in. Too wet to take it out and get some good pics, so it's in the garage in one.

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i always loved the 57 olds when i took my driver,s test my brother inlaw had a black super 88 conv. j-2 stick when i passed he threw me the keys and said be back at midnight well i put over a 100 miles on it that night wish it was still around the car glad that my brother inlaw is he,s a great guy

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In 1969 my dad said I could buy my own car as long as I could pay cash for it. My price range was $150.00. I combed the newspaper for anything that was in that range. I called about an Olds that I found, we went to look at it and when the lady opened the garage door there was a mint (to me) 57 super 88 convertible in pale yellow. It had a J2 and about 90,000 miles. I bought it on the spot. Drove it for 2 years, blew the cam and sold it for $30.00. Wonder what it is worth now?

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this ought to raise some eyebrows...back in the 70's I had a 33 international pickup with a 57 olds j-2 and the olds 4 speed auto trans..unfortunatly, i never finished it...sold it and the new owner removed the olds powertrain and installed an early chrysler hemi with 2 fours....

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Dad had a black 57 Super 88 4 door ht with a J-2 in it from the time I was 15 until I went in the service. That thing would run and he used to say that it was the only car that he had ever owned up to that time that he never had wide open on the highway. It made for a fun trip to San Diego with him when I was 15 too.

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You are real lucky to have your High school car ! Most never made it past a few years later from beating the hell out of them .
Does it still run and do yo ever drive it around ? I see in the pics you have it stored in a garage with some ither nice toys .

Wow! You still own it? That's awesome! Do you still have the wagon too??

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The amazing thing to me is that all the kids in that picture are all still alive!
The Olds wasn't mine, it belongs to the short kid toward the back in striped
pants standing in front of me. During high school we snuck out for lunch at
a Dairy Queen and another kid with a 4 speed chevelle tried to do some
hairy burnout but was in reverse... Caved in the whole drivers door and quarter. I didn't get my wagon/delivery till I was 15. We both still have em,
my wagons getting a new floor now and I don't think the Olds has been driven since I got it out for a Labor day parade a few years back.The owner
of the Olds drove his brothers 57 New Yorker( a 23K mile survivor) and then
we took em outside of town to blow the cobwebs out. I'm headed back up
to Ohio tomorrow(where the Olds is) and this thread has me thinking its
time to file the points and prime the carb again...

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this ought to raise some eyebrows...back in the 70's I had a 33 international pickup with a 57 olds j-2 and the olds 4 speed auto trans..unfortunatly, i never finished it...sold it and the new owner removed the olds powertrain and installed an early chrysler hemi with 2 fours....

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I can see the chromed dimpled valve covers. Were those the Isky covers? I think I read on hamb that the hi perf "export" solid lifter J2 had painted dimpled covers? At any rate, yes that is VERY cool.

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Nice clips, and real glad to see there are still some of these cars around. Logride, your Fiesta is looking nice, and no offense meant, but I've got to say that Oldsmobile threw a big booger into the styling with the post on the wagons. That vertical 2X4 between the doors just looks like an afterthought. It isn't so bad on the sedans, but it sure looks out of place on the wagons.

And check out Mr. Warren's high-jacker pants. His belt is right between his navel and nipples. I imagine all the "cowboys" had a laugh about that around the campfire.......

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Wow! Thanks for sharing these great old commercials! 1957 sure was a long time ago, and not just in years! I always liked how the '57 was part of a clear styling evolution through all the '50s Oldsmobiles, and how the designers kinda went wacko for 1958 on what was essentially the same car. Then, if you look at the '59, it's "genetics" owe more to the '57 design.

I have very fond memories of my Grandfather's blue '57 88 four door sedan, which he bought in about 1958 or '59. It had been an AC Spark Plug company car. The outside was pretty conservative since it was the cheaper 88 model, without even a "decor group" to provide stainless trim around the windows, but my God, what an interior! Bright blue cloth, and white vinyl, plus a stunning blue and white dash with a huge chrome plated middle section, and a futuristic-looking white and chrome steering wheel; WAY cooler than the interior in our '58 Ford wagon!

Here the Olds in the driveway of my Grandparent's house in New Castle, PA in the summer of 1959. That's me playing on the sidewalk with my Johan '59 Desoto friction model. My Grandad's '53(?) Plymouth "work car" was parked on the street out front.

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Helllo: Here are some pictures of my 57 J-2 car.
Super 88 2 door hardtop. Factory Gold Poly Mist Paint.
It was built in California and was a true J-2 Car. W-1 on the body tag.
Man does it run very well!!!
If you like, look a my personal photo album on this site for more pictures.